Bizarre: Post office fined ₹15,000 for not returning 50p
In a bizarre case, a Chennai resident, Manasha, has won a legal battle against a local post office for not returning 50p change after making a payment. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ruled in favor of Manasha, and ordered the post office to pay him ₹15,000. This marks an astonishing return of 2999900% on the initial disputed amount for the plaintiff.
Dispute originated from rounding off practice
The dispute started on December 3, 2023, when Manasha went to the Polichalur post office to send a registered letter. He paid ₹30 for a service worth ₹29.50 and anticipated getting 50p back as change. However, the post office told him that the system automatically rounded off the amount to ₹30 since their digital payment method 'Pay U' QR code had a technical issue.
Manasha's concerns over potential financial irregularities
In his complaint, Manasha raised concerns that the post office's practice of rounding off transactions could lead to major financial irregularities. He argued that this method could allow siphoning off of huge amounts of money, contribute to black money circulation, and cause loss of GST revenue to the government. The post office defended itself by saying any amount less than 50p was usually 'ignored' due to software design.
Commission rules post office's action as unfair trade practice
After listening to both sides, the commission found the post office had indeed overcharged owing to a software glitch. The commission ruled this as an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It also stressed that despite its small value, a 50p coin remains legal tender and should be treated as such.
